Hailing from Oakland, CA, Dress The Dead have released their debut EP, AEther, via Blood Blast Distribution. Stream and purchase here.
Craig Locicero, from Forbidden, originally formed Dress The Dead with The Haunted vocalist Peter Dolving in 2017. When Dolving left the group, the band struggled to find the right vocalist. While going through vocalist tryouts, Locicero received a text from Kayla Dixon.
Craig Locicero, "I'm proud of the vast catalog of music I’ve compiled over the last 3+ decades. Some of the very best material has come in the last 5 years with Dress The Dead. It seemed at times like the cards were stacked against us. Our timing never quite panned out. In great part because of the pandemic scrapping bigger plans. Regardless of that, we kept our heads down and put the art first. Created some amazing music that sounds unlike any other band out there. I believe collective visions of Kayla, James, Mikey, Mark & myself contributed to something that will eventually be discovered and looked upon favorably. My hope is that people will see this sooner than later. This collection of 5 songs does the talking."
James Walker, "I think from the beginning we had a we don’t give a shit we’re gonna play what we wanna play attitude. That means writing the most heaviest parts right next to the most beautiful part. If it was artistic and we wanted to do it, then we did it. These five songs have a perfect combination of emotions in them. It’s an in your face fuck you your beautiful vibe."
Mikey Rowan, "I’m happy to share with everyone some of the first compositions that I collaborated on with my friends in Dress The Dead. These songs were all conceived in 2021-2022, a period in which we were instrumentally experimenting with various different arrangement and composition theories and tools. It was immensely interesting to witness our sound develop as we collectively gained and applied intel from our own experiences as well as showing no apprehension to lean on and be inspired by the legends and giants of rock and metal music that came before us. These 5 songs provide a serviceable snapshot or time capsule documentation of a period in Dress The Dead that will be looked upon as a bridge to what’s coming next. Aggressive, dynamic, eclectic at times, chaotic, and peaceful, this is the sound of our band learning to harness and control our collective creative energy. The journey is the destination. Thank you for being a part of it, I hope you enjoy the music."
Kayla Dixon, "I'm very proud of the work we all put in to getting this EP out. We all bring differing musical backgrounds to this project and we worked our asses off to try to encapsulate a sound that combines all of our influences. I hope that lands for everyone who listens to this EP. In regards to the lyrics and vocal melodies, I took a very straightforward approach and tried to remain conversational in tone which I feel really comes through on "I Want to Know You". Personally, I wanted these songs to feel like I was sitting and having a conversation with the listener. I sincerely hope you all enjoy and can't wait for feedback from everyone who listens!"
Tracklisting:
"Sinking In Ether"
"I Want To Know You"
"Tickets To The Brawl"
"Hallowed Head"
"Painless Injection"
- Produced by Craig Locicero & Zack Ohren
- Recorded by Zack Ohren & Michael Rosen
- Mixed by Matt Winegar
- Music by Dress The Dead
- Lyrics Kayla Dixon
Dress The Dead lineup:
Craig Locicero - Lead Guitar
James Walker - Bass
Kayla Dixon - Lead Vocals
Mark Hernandez - Drums
Mikey Rowan - Guitar
About Dress The Dead:
Craig Locicero’s pedigree is well established: guitarist for Forbidden, one of the pioneering bands in the Bay Area thrash metal movement, and more recently guitarist for Manmade God & SpiralArms. Locicero longed to do something that wasn’t tied to any genre and that’s when he began to put the pieces of Dress The Dead together.Many of those pieces came from Locicero’s musical past.
The first piece was drums. In recent years, Locicero had rekindled his relationship with one-time Forbidden drummer Mark Hernandez, who played with the band from 2008-2011. The early chemistry was still there, and he had just the right feel for the music. Mark is one of the most well respected and versatile metal drummers to come out of the bay area having sat behind the kit with Testament, Vio-Lence, Social Unrest and Re-Ignition.
Next up was bass. James Walker and Locicero played together in rock act Manmade God, which was signed by Rick Ruben to American Recordings in the early 2000s. The mix of creation between veteran bassist Walker and Locicero is instrumental in the band’s sonic assault and its groove. Listen to a song that is written by Walker, as he is notorious for writing a song within a song.
A second guitarist was now needed to round it out. Dan Delay of the post-rock band Drawing Heaven had the versatile chops that expanded the band’s accessible but experimental sound.
With Peter Dolving on vocals, this version of Dress The Dead fine-tuned its sound and performed live at the end 2016 introducing everyone to the newest band formed by Locicero and this carefully selected group of veteran musicians. Peter eventually decided to return to his home in Europe and the search for a new vocalist was on.
Enter…… Kayla Dixon
Dixon has a pedigree that, at first, seems more appropriate for a professional theatre career than a frontwomanof a metal band. She was exposed to artists like Marilyn Manson and Tool from her half-sisters when growing up in suburban Maryland. When her sisters moved out of the house, Dixon moved on to other pursuits like musical theatre. Dixon eventually auditioned for and enrolled in the prestigious
Duke Ellington School of The Arts in Washington, D.C.
Dixon started working professionally in her junior year and finished high school via home study. She then decided to immerse herself in theatre and was soon working professionally. During her freshman year in college, she emerged to front a death metal band. Just as she mulled moving back to the East Coast to pursue more theatre work, she heard the doom band Witch Mountain was looking for a new vocalist.
She nailed the audition and moved to Portland.
Having relocated to the West Coast, Dixon was recommended to Locicero through a mutual friend. She initially worried that she was so different from Dolving she might face backlash from fans who wanted a certain thing. "In my mind, I thought I was going to be trolled, and I didn't know if I was ready to face that,” she says, “But surprisingly there has only been positivity from the first song."
"I want to be continually creating," Dixon adds. "When I heard '1969' I thought it was great. When Craig sent me the other songs like 'Promises & Kisses' I was really in. I wanted it to be in a band that was heavy emotionally and sonically.”
One of the interesting components of the band is the musical experience gap. Dixon is 23, whereas Locicero and the rest of the band have been in signed recording projects for some time. This dynamic allows the sound of the band to blend generations of auditory power together.
The missing piece …… Mikey
In 2019 Dan Delay had to step away to dedicate more time to family life. Dress The Dead were now on the hunt for a new guitarist. That didn’t last long at all as this presented the almost instant addition of Mikey Rowan.
“Within 5 minutes of our announcing that Dan decided to walk” Craig recalled, "both Mark and I were getting texts from a number of our mutual friends and Mikey himself saying that he was the guy for the band!” It was indeed a sign from the Gods of Rock n Roll.”
Most metal and rock musicians in the Bay Area had been aware of Rowan for many years. As a 16-year-old kid, he got the gig with metal act Insolence after which they were signed by Maverick Records. He immediately made a name for himself with his advanced playing and high energy stage presence.
“Mikey brought exactly what we needed at the perfect time with boundless energy and musical vocabulary. He fearless! We love that and welcome any challenges.” Locicero continued
Collectively, these pieces allowed the band to upend expectations. “From the first day I started this I wanted something that would be unafraid to mix in any influences I had and not worry at all about chasing something or trying to fit in,” he says. “We just want to play music. We have enough influences from all angles, so we don't need to call it anything. I figure other people will do that for us. We have freedom with this and that is our main objective - write great songs and don't worry what you call them.”
